Summary: Reasons and guidelines for praising God using His attributes

Illustration:I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

C.S. Lewis.

1. Praise helps us appreciate all the past, present and future blessings we enjoy through the Holy Spirit. The Lord calls all believers to be intimate with Him and praise facilitates our nearness to God. Praise enables us to come closer to the Lord so He can come closer to us and help us resist the devil. (Vs 13)

2. Praise helps us understand how we were made God’s heritage and accessed His power. We praise God because He has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. (Vs 11)

3. Praise helps us appreciate the surpassing greatness of His power for us who believe. The way to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord is to study His characteristics revealed in the Scriptures. (Vs 19)

4. Praise helps us by focusing our attentions on God who is holy, pure and blameless in everything. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. People who are in intimate fellowship with the Lord are able to give greater thanks to the Lord for His power and sovereign control in all things. (Vs 4)

5. Praise helps us by giving us a greater incentive to live our lives in holiness, love and with a good conscience. God’s character gives us the basis and standard for all ethical and moral principles. (Vs. 4)

6. Praise helps us complete God’s primary purpose for creating us, which is to glorify Him. Failure to think correctly about God leads us to the sin of idolatry as well as to the sins of omission, commission, wrong disposition and faulty assumptions. (Vs 3)

7. Praise helps us feel a greater security in His everlasting love since He chose us in Him before the creation. Knowing God helps us enjoy richer fellowship with Him. (Vs. 3)

8. Praise helps us fully appreciate and appropriate God’s grace, goodness and peace. The more we know God the better we are able to enjoy His presence and grow in all aspects into Christ. (Vs. 2)

9. Praise helps us gain a greater awareness of how enriched we are through God’s blessings. It is our privilege to praise the Lord as He gradually reveals more ways that He has blessed us while we give Him greater glory. People who intimately know God are given greater clarity about how they can maximize their contribution to the qualitative and quantitative growth of the church. (Vs. 3)

10. Praise helps us gain a greater glimpse of God’s will, way and plan for our life. People who are drawing near to the Lord, through praise, are a constant channel of blessings to those around them. (Vs 9)

11. Praise helps us gain a greater maturity in all aspects of life as we grow up in all dimensions into Christ. People who are walking close to the Lord are able to follow God’s kingdom priorities instead of non-essential pursuits. (Vs. 9)